Compact dusty clouds in a cosmic environment

Journal Article · Fri Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/780/2/131· OSTI ID:22348266

Tsytovich, V. N. ^[1]; Ivlev, A. V.; Burkert, A.

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1. General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117942 Moscow (Russian Federation)

A novel mechanism of the formation of compact dusty clouds in astrophysical environments is discussed. It is shown that the balance of collective forces operating in space dusty plasmas can result in the effect of dust self-confinement, generating equilibrium spherical clusters. The distribution of dust and plasma density inside such objects and their stability are investigated. Spherical dusty clouds can be formed in a broad range of plasma parameters, suggesting that this process of dust self-organization might be a generic phenomenon occurring in different astrophysical media. We argue that compact dusty clouds can represent condensation seeds for a population of small-scale, cold, gaseous clumps in the diffuse interstellar medium. They could play an important role in regulating its small-scale structure and its thermodynamical evolution.

• OSTI ID: 22348266
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 780, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
BALANCES
CONFINEMENT
DISTRIBUTION
DUSTS
EQUILIBRIUM
EVOLUTION
PLASMA DENSITY
SPACE
SPHERICAL CONFIGURATION
STABILITY